Siphon box



Patented Jan. 13,* 1953 f siPnoNnoXv Samuel A. Wilson,l Tulsa, Okla., as signor to Maloney-Crawford Tank & "Manufacturing Company, Tulsa, Okla., a.' .corporation offDela- Ihis invention relates lto improvements Vin Siphon boxes, such 'as those commonly used in "conjunction with Voilv field oil-water separators, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an externally adjustable overflow device for said Siphon boxes.

Emulsion treaters'or separators are commonly "used inthe oil fields Ato separate Water from the -oil and gas, and to break down oil-water emulsions and to separate the water therefrom. Y Sepa rators are also used to aconsiderable'extent in l the chemical industry for the purpose of separatingrelatively high and low-density 'immiscible liquids. Emulsions are not encountered so `frequently in the chemical industry'I however, and

the separators and the accessory equipment are usually simpler devices. In either case, however,

"s'orne means must be provided for `maintaining the desired level within the separating apparatus for the interface between the relatively high and'v low-density liquids.

'This invention is concerned mainly with improvements on devices used to regulate and maintain Athe desired interfacial level, and in this specification, the preferred embodiment V'of my invention as applied to oil field emulsion separators will be described; but it is to be understood that my invention is not limited thereto. Further, in the following description waterf and oil may be any relativ-ely high and low-density immiscible liquids, respectively.

In oil field practice the separator oil-water interfacial levelA is commonly held constant by means of a fsiphon box, through vwhich.l theA .separated water discharges from theV separator.

The term siphon box may'include any"ove'r flow or f'weir box as descriptive ofY the apparatus. The siphon box encloses one or more water riser-pipeswhich are individually connected to the lower water zone 'of one or more compartments of the separator. n y

1 The pressure inside the siphon box is equalized with the separator by means of a vaporline c onnecting the siphon box and the sep-arator vapor outlet. The level of the oil-water interface in each separator tank compartment is determined by the height of the overflow riser-pipe connected to the particular compartment. and by the relative specific gravities of the water and oil. For maximum separator eflicienoy the interfacial level must be held within narrow limits. Although the desired height of the siphon box overilow risers may be approximated when the equipment is manufactured in the factory, it will be apparent that the varying densities of oil and y. Otherobjects and advantages of the invention -will .abe evident from therfollowing detailed deiscription, .read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention.

number of reasons.

A, box.

.Imaam jwater; encountered from` placeto placercquires 'field' adjustment' f the installed equipment.. The

water riser K he'igl'itl is commonly a adjusted byre- 'hi'noving a'sealed coverplate of the siphon bxfand cuttingoif or joining on a length of pipe as re- `quired. 'Ihis operation necessitates shutting down the well or wells served by the separator while such change is being made. shutting-in an oil well `may be lhighly .undesirable Vforany of a For example, injso'me instances, a' shut-in well will fsand up, whichv is undesirable, or it maybe necessaryto keep the Well in operation in order to obtain the vprorated production.

In accordance with my invention the adjustment of the height. of a siphon box water riser may be madefrom an external point on the Siphon box while the separator is in operation 'and without shutting-in the oilr well or wells serviced by the separator.

It is v an important object of this invention to V.provide aV siphon boxl with lone or more water Y cverilow riser-pipes which 'are adjustable in height from a point outside the enclosed siphon Another object of this invention is to provide a siphon box which governs the oil-water interfacial level within a separator and which is adjustable without shutting down the operation of the separator.

AndY still another object of this invention-is kto provide a simple and economical device for a readily adjusting the height of an overflow riserpipe located inside an enclosure by manipulation from a point outside thefenclosure..

.l Fig..1.is a side elevational view of a siphon box.

Fig. 2 is a. sectional elevational view. slightly ,enlarged from Fig. 1, of the siphon box shown withl two water `risers which are adjustable in height in accordance with my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, the usual siphon box indrical members 8 and I 0, respectively, and rubber seal O-rings I2 and I4 disposed between the surfaces of the pipes to eiect a sealing, as will be be hereinafter set forth. The upper face of pipe 8 is provided with upstanding bars I6 and I1 welded at diametrically opposite points to the inner periphery of pipe 8. The bars extend vertically upward and are secured together by a cross-bar member I8. A nut 20 is suitably connected as by welding, to the center of cross-bar I8. A screw shaft 2| extends through nut 20 and also through the pressure cover-plate 22. The upper extremity of screw shaft 2l is provided with a suitable wrench pad 23 for turning. The screw shaft may be sealed relative to the pressure plate 22 by any suitable gasket such as 0- ring (not shown). The screw shaft 2l is retained in the proper vertical position by .means of shoulder 25, washer 26, and a Cotter pin 21. The slip-over pipe I is provided with similar upstanding bars 28 and 29 of slightly greater length, a cross-bar 38, nut 3| and screw shaft 32 together with similar accessory parts. A crossbar 33 is slidably secured in any suitable manner to the bars II and 28 to prevent rotation of the slip-over pipes Il and Il during vertical adjustment thereof.

Operation In operation, it may be desired to change the oil-water interfacial level in either the free water chamber or the emulsion-treating chamber of the separator (not shown). For adjustment in the free water chamber for example, a wrench is applied to wrench pad 23 and the screw shaft 2l is rotated in a right-hand direction to cause simultaneous upward movement of nut 20 and slip-over pipe 8 relative to riser-pipe li. During such vertical movement bar I'I slides relative to bar 33 such as through an aperture 34 in bar 33. Conversely, a left-hand rotation of the screw shaft 2i causes nut 26 and slip-over pipe 8 to move downward relative to xed riser-pipe Il, and results in a lowering of the oil-water interfacial level in the free water chamber of the separator. The slip-over pipe I8 is adjusted re1- ative to riser pipe 6 in exactly the same manner as described above, through the nut 3! and screw shaft 32. The O-rings I2 and I4 permit the slip-over pipes 8 and I9 to slide freely while preventing any appreciable quantity of water from leaking through the annular spaces between the mating pipes. A pressure equalizing pipe 38 connects between the Siphon box 2 and the separator (not shown).

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention contemplates a Siphon box for regulating the interfacial level in an emulsion treater, separating apparatus or the like without the necessity of going into the siphon box for making any adjustment. The interfacial level between a plurality of separate compartments in a separating apparatus may be individually adjusted from the exterior of the siphon 4 box as desired. Although the present invention has disclosed only two overflow pipes corresponding to two chambers which would be capable of adjustment in the separator, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

I claim:

l. In a siphon box for regulating the interfacial fiuid level of an oil water emulsion treater or the like, comprising a housing, a plurality of cylindrical risers disposed in the housing and communicating with a plurality of fluid compartments in the treater, a movable slipover pipe provided on each of the risers for regulating the interfacial level between the fluids in the various compartments of the treater, means providing adjustment of the slipover pipes from the exterior of the siphon housing, said means comprising a rotatable shaft extending into the housing above each slipover pipe, a nut movable on each shaft in response to rotation of the shaft, and means connecting each nut with its respective slipover pipe to cause a simultaneous axial movement of the nut and slipover pipe upon rotation of the corresponding shaft, and means connected between the slipover pipes to prevent rotation of the slipover pipes during a movement thereof.

2. A siphon box as set forth in claim 1 with sealing means between the slipover pipes and the risers.

3. In a siphon box for regulating the interfacial fluid level of an oil water emulsion treater or the like, comprising a housing, a plurality of cylindrical risers disposed in the housing and communicating with a plurality of fluid compartments in the treater, a movable slipover pipe provided on each of the risers for regulating the interfacial level between the fluids in the various compartments of the treater, means providing adjustment of the slipover pipes from the exterior of the siphon housing, said means comprising a rotatable shaft extending into the housing above each slipover pipe, a nut movable on each shaft in response to rotation of the shaft, bars connecting the nuts with their respective slipover pipes to cause a simultaneous axial movement of each nut and its corresponding slipover pipe upon rotation of the corresponding shaft, and a bar slidably connected to the first mentioned bars to prevent rotation of the slipover pipes during movement thereof.

SAMUEL A. WILSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 664,565 Livingood Dec. 2'5, 1900 922,060 Stockdon May 18, 1909 1,396,889 Sepulchre Nov. 15, 1921 1,513,882 Bateman Nov. 4, 1924 1,618,151 Fisher Feb. 15, 1927 

